Mediators between FG and Boko Haram quit over FG’s insincerity.

Ibrahim Datti Ahmed, the muslim cleric mediating in peace talks between the Nigerian government and the Boko Haram Islamist sect has announced he was quitting the talks, accusing the government of insincerity.

Ahmed who heads the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria {SCSN] has been a go-between in the indirect talks between Boko Haram and the government aimed at ending a two-year insurgency that has left over 1,000 people dead.

Ahmad said in a statement that he and his colleague, Nafiu Baba Ahmed, a lawyer, decided to quit over an alleged leaking of details of the talks to the media.

“This development has embarrassed us very much and has created strong doubt in our mind about the sincerity of the government as the discussion is supposed to be very confidential,” he said.

“In view of this unfortunate and unhelpful development we have no option but to withdraw from these early discussions,” Ahmad added. “We sincerely regret that an opportunity to negotiate and terminate this cycle of violence is being missed.”

A security official said Boko Haram had proposed a three-month truce if all of its detained members are released and if the government halts any further arrests. He said the government was looking at the proposal.

Ahmad’s statement said he contacted the sect through a journalist “who maintained a valuable professional contact with the leadership of the sect”.

Ahmad formed the SCSN as a muslim pressure group that agitated for the reintroduction of sharia law in 12 predominantly muslim states in the north when the country returned to democratic rule in 1999.

The group drew membership largely from radical muslim clerics, including Mohammed Yusuf, the slain leader of Boko Haram.

The sect had initially claimed to be fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, but its aims and structure have since become less clear, while its attacks have grown increasingly deadly and sophisticated.

Comments

17 comments

I don’t think quiting the negotiation is the best idea if at all they really need peace in this Nation. Well the government made a mistake, but that should not be a problem for them to quit. Please Nigerians lets put an end to this problems. The poor are suffering, the rich has no cause for alarm. Is Boko Haram fighting the government or fighting the poor? Or fighting the christians? Then why are they attacking churches not government Installations? Please and please dialogue is the best way.

Boko Haram is not to be trusted. Who is to say they wouldn’t continue with their massacres once their members are released from detention? Pls, the FG should thread with caution when dealing with boko haram. This is a very delicate matter.

Irony indeed.BOKO HARAM and its Sponsors/politicians, leaders/religious fanatics and followers/failures in society want to negotiate in secret on its own term – release all its killer groups in detention.No way. They violently kill innocent Nigerian Christians, Muslims,foreigners, Children in public at churches, mosques, markets, offices, police stations/barracks using arms and ammunition from western education. FG should only negotiate with publicly known figures. Secret talks with public killers is Non Sense. Presido GEJ should use Scientific skill to defeat these killers. Statistically 5-10% of any human population above 12yrs are by nature and choice criminally inclined under unfair conditions. And 1-2% of this population , say N1-2million Nigerians are violent killers that should be locked out of society for some time – say 10- 30yrs or even for ever. The Nigerian prison space of just 40,000 for a violent criminal population of 1-2million is just too low. Just expand it to 800,000 for general crime and 200,000 for violent criminals like BOKO HARAM, KIDNAPPERS, ARMED ROBBERS, POLITICAL THUGS, anybody embezzling GOVT fund over N1m will help clean up the current mess in the society. No dialogue with CRIMINALS and KILLERS ever works. Remember HITLER, MARMAR GADAFFI, HUSSEIN SADAM, USMAN BIN LEDIN, ABACHA, CHARLES TAYLOR, IDI AMIN and all those who turned North Africa, Middle East, Asia into Desert and permanent war zones.Lock them UP or lock them OUT ,

It is becoming clear that Boko Haram is losing steam following the recent security services successes in smooking out the sect’s members from their holes. This issue of nogotiations with book Haram is just a ploy by sect to restrategize in it’s operations: re-arm itself through sourcing for more arms and ammunition, recruit more fanatics to swell up it’s ranks and also secure the release of it’s key operatives now in detention. Their political sponsors/financiers are hell-bent on negotiation in order to secure ‘amnesty’ (cover up their tracks) from being exposed to the world.
President GEJ and the National Assembly should nener buy into this gimmick. The perpetrators of the most heinous crimes in this country must never be allowed to go away with this no matter how long this will take. Government must note that Nigeria is at a war; no going back until the evil is crushed.

Muslim will never go free,they ar lucky we av a baby president they wld av regretd their action by nw,never the les we ar coming for them and their families,with God by our side we shal teach them an evalasting lesson,go on cawords ur cup is not yet full

Let us be careful how we deal with these fellows, they are confused about thier wants because they are acting a script written by thier sponsors . Thier main aim is to make this nation ungorvenable because gej is ruling us. They believed that nigeria belongs to them. May they never have the opportunity of sharing our oil wells again

3mnths truce.den aftr 3mnths wot happns?they cntinu 4rm where dey stoppd.FOOLS!!! I wsh God haz a special place 4 dem in Hell!.d bst thng dey can do is bomb d whole Nigeria so we knw dey’re d only ones left 2 rule demslvs.GEJ,wot a FIGURE HEAD!BUT LET’S NOT BE CARID AWAY,ALL DESE ARE END TIME SIGNS.JESUS IS CMN SOON!

Do you think it easy to do evil and go free………
The lifes of those died and victimized are crying to God for intervention…….
Boko harams are in trouble, they shall find no peace……. They are in trouble right now ……….
The federal government should not make that mistakes to dialog with them………

The root of the problem is gene of the ARAB nation and the curse of the Islamic movement.Check the last 2000yrs of their history and all you read are violence, terrorism, killings, murder, deserts, backwardness, women and children slavery/imprisonment and dictatorship. How can violent animal rearers move any nation forward..